Coming up Short
by Comicbookfan
Summary: Mana knew it could never work out with the Thief King. After all, evil and good, nobles and thieves...they were never meant to be. It was one moment of stupidity, of innocence, and then it was over. Mischiefshipping, Thief King/Mana for a contest.


Something Short of Perfect

There were no gentle kisses.

Never with the Thief King.

Mana knew this, and so did not care when her lips became swollen.

She knew that it was love.

She could barely remember how she had met the Thief King.

He had probably been doing something illegal. She didn't care anymore.

Well, of course she did.

But she was young. She couldn't help the fact she wanted love, she wanted kisses in the moonlight, just like any other girl.

To bad it had to be a secret. Sometimes she wanted to bound to her mentor, to her dear friend Atem, and tell them that, yes, she had a courtship.

But they would never approve. After all, he was the King of Thieves.

She was supposed to hate thieves with all of her heart, with the passion of all the burning suns of Egypt.

Thieves hated nobles.

But, did Mana even count as a noble? She had a friendship with nobles, and she lived well, so yes, she supposed she was. But it was more that she worked for the nobles, and the Thief King hated them. He hated them all.

But there was one soft spot in that hatred.

Mana was probably the prettiest girl his age he had ever seen, and they were only about seventeen. It was obvious that when they first met eyes, they would be, needless to say, attracted.

And even so, there was a reason for his hatred of nobles.

_I used to live in a place. A thief city. _

_They killed them. The Pharaoh, this Pharaoh's father, he killed them. He killed them all._

_Except for me, of course._

_And that is why I hate the person who calls himself the son of Ra. Because he is pure evil._

Maybe the Thief King didn't even notice she was a noble. Maybe all he noticed was that she was beautiful, and she was magical.

The King of Thieves was smart.

He knew, and it was with little regret, that it would only be a few months more, retaining what they had.

It was just lust, he told himself.

He tried to figure it out, with every overly-rough kiss, with every whispered _I love you_ in his ear, affection that he never returned, that he never vocalized.

He was smart, and so he knew that it was just something, okay for then, but soon it would be time to move on.

Perhaps he lusted after her for her beauty.

Or maybe it was for her laughter, soft as the desert sands.

Mana was strong, and she was no idiot either.

She had bright, happy, but somehow wise eyes.

She could only be strong, with the life she lived.

_'I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore.'_

_'What are you saying?'_

_'I can't do this, I can't choose between you and Atem. I have to choose one of you. I have to live your life or his, I can't be stuck somewhere in between.'_

_'Why can you only live my life or his? Can't you have your own?' The words were icy._

_'I can. I can, and I'm choosing to whether continue my studies as a sorceress. Or stay with you.'_

_'So?'_

_'I...can't leave what I have now. It's too good. I'm not giving it all up.'_

_'Then go.'_

_'What?'_

_'If you want to leave, go. All of you nobles are the same. Rats. No more than bugs under my feet.'_

Touzoukou'ou Bakura had no useless hope.

He knew it was coming, and he decided that no, it hadn't hurt when she had told him she had to leave.

_Mana's eyes blazed with hurt and anger. 'Good-bye.'  
_

_The Thief King stayed silent. _

_Mana turned away, walking home._

_Because home was safe, home was were she could be herself, and not his beautiful, seductive temptress, because he wasn't worth it.  
_

Mana didn't forget about him.

She never would.

But she would always view him as a mistake.

She knew it when she felt that giddy happiness again.

But this time less empty.

Mana was mischievous, smart, fun, she was everything anybody would want.

And somebody did want her.

_And Atem always says 'I love you' back._

Thief King Bakura died not long after Atem.

Leaving Mana in a kind of parentheses, as though she did not know who to grieve for more.

She chose to grieve for Atem, and forget the other.

And eventually, he was only a murmur in the back of her mind, and all she saw him in was dry sand and swollen lips.

Mana had been taught, ever since she was young, one ideal.

_Good always triumphs over evil._

Does it?

Maybe it didn't.

Perhaps, nobody was ever truly evil.

Perhaps everybody had reasons for being good or being bad.

_Nobles are false, fake human beings. _

_Thieves are horrible creatures of the shadows and of the night. They are not worth anybody's time._

_If you see them, kill them._

It was crazy to ever think a relationship with evil could ever happen. Both of them made a bad choice in their life, and all it left them with was a deeper hatred for good or evil, and a bitter taste in their mouth's.

Maybe, sometimes, good could weld with evil and become something in between.

That obviously wasn;t ever going to happen.

Too young people had tried.

And the relationship was nothing but lust and failure.

---

_Does it hurt?_

_Does it hurt?_

_Does it hurt to feel like you feel?_

_Does it hurt to go against everybody's wishes?_

_It never hurts._

_But it does,_

_And soon you will realize the mistake you made._

_Soon you will realize,_

_That it wasn't worth the pain.  
_


End file.
